Former Highlands School District teacher faces new charges after police identify more student victims

A former Highlands School District teacher accused of sexually abusing two students is facing new charges after detectives identified additional victims, Allegheny County police announced on Tuesday.

Court paperwork shows that 53-year-old Sean Dicer is facing charges of indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors in connection with an incident dating back to 2007. Police said the charges were filed after consultation with the district attorney's office.

According to the criminal complaint, after Dicer was charged in December with sexually abusing two students, a third victim came forward. Now 28 years old, he told police that he and another student were abused by Dicer in 2007 when he was their fifth grade teacher. 

The victim told police about multiple occasions of abuse, saying Dicer would bribe them with classroom currency. He also told police that the fourth victim, who died in 2022, later said that Dicer paid him for sexual acts when he was in sixth and seventh grade. 

The investigation into Dicer began in November when a 16-year-old boy came forward, alleging he was abused when he was 11 or 12 by Dicer, who was then a teacher at Highlands School District. While investigating, police said they learned about a second victim, also a Highlands student. 

According to the criminal complaint filed in December, the first victim said he met Dicer at a park when he was 8 years old, and after that, Dicer acted as a "father figure." He told police that in the summer of 2021, he brought a friend to Dicer's Brackenridge home, and that's when the abuse began.

Police said the abuse continued until school started, and when one of the victims threatened to tell, Dicer would allegedly apologize and offer him anything he wanted. Investigators said the victim showed proof of payments from Dicer totaling over $6,000.

Dicer resigned as a teacher in 2022, the Highlands School District said. 

Police are still asking anyone with information to call the county tipline at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.